As we discussed at the beginning of the month, the LEGO Super Mario sets are finally available in North America. There is a great variety of sets in the collection, including the #71360 LEGO Super Mario Starter Course, the LEGO Super Mario Character Packs, the LEGO Super Mario Power-Up Packs, and the LEGO Super Mario Expansion Sets.
To clearly differentiate the sets and to avoid any confusion, LEGO is using clear labeling and a color-coded system for the boxes. The Starter Course has a blue band on the box, the Power-Up Packs a yellow band, and the Expansion sets a green band. The individual Character Packs come in packets like the LEGO Collectible Minifigures with ten additional characters to collect. You can find them all at the LEGO Super Mario section of the Online LEGO Shop.
Please note that only Starter Course set has the Mario figure, and you will need him to take advantage of the play-functions of all the other sets. Mario is highly specialized with color sensor, motion sensor, displays screens, sound effects, and Bluetooth connection. (Bluetooth is needed to connect Mario to the free LEGO Super Mario app, so after playing a level, you can see the challenges he faced, the enemies he defeated, and how many coins he collected.)
The whole setup is so complex that it took LEGO designers four years to develop the system and various functions. In the video below, you can see how Mario interacts with different parts of the course.
As you can see, the LEGO Super Mario sets are very different from regular LEGO sets. Although there is building involved with standard LEGO pieces (and many new ones!), the play-features include interaction of electronic components as well as the app.
It’s also important to note that the LEGO Super Mario sets do not come with traditional paper instructions, instead they are available in the app. This may be disappointing to those who prefer paper instructions, but the digital instructions work just fine, so don’t let this discourage you if you’re otherwise interested in the sets.
Now that the LEGO Super Mario sets are out, they have been already reviewed by several reputable YouTube channels. As it is unlikely that I will ever get any of the sets myself (I appreciate their innovative nature, but I’m just not into Super Mario), I thought to include a couple of video-reviews here for those who are curious about the sets. David from Solid Brix Studios will show you both the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course as well as the Expansion Sets in detail.
I know there is a lot of excitement about the LEGO Super Mario sets amongst those who grew up with the game. As you can see from the reviews above, there is a lot to like about the sets, and there are also things that could have been done better. This is often the case when LEGO tries out something new, interactive, and innovative. Also, pay attention to the parts selection. There are some interesting new parts and already existing parts in new colors, that you might want to use for your own creations. And remember that there are no stickers in the LEGO Super Mario sets. All the decorations you see are printed.
If you want to give LEGO Super Mario a try, but you’re not sure if you want to fully invest in it, you can just get the Starter Course, see how you like it, then maybe expand it with the other sets at a later time. The full selection is available at the LEGO Super Mario section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Super Mario collection? Do you have any of the sets already? How do you like the play-functions? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
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I don’t see the appeal of these sets, but they are flying off the shelves at my local target and walmart. So they must be popular with kids.
My kids and their friends talk about the sets all the time. We don’t have any of them yet, but it’s clear we will have to get some for Christmas. For now, they are going over to friends’ houses to play.
I played the starter course. It’s fun but gets old quickly. But I’m not the target audience. For kids, smashing things and making sounds is fun.
They can print all of the super mario parts, but not parts for other sets? Why? Anyway, I don’t have much interest in this theme, but I understand why kids like it.
My guess would be that Nintendo insisted they be printed.
I had some interest in this, but after watching the review video, I think these will get old fast. I mean how much entertainment can you get out of smashing buttons and collecting coins?
Hmm, I remember that the old CyberMaster theme also excluded printed instructions replaced with computer films. I don’t think it worked well, then, either…
I have no interest in Mario but I’m impressed by how the whole thing works. I wonder if Lego could do similar interactions in other themes. I rather have something like the Mario figure that directly interacts with bricks than apps.
I would say the same. I rather have something like this than app controlled sets. There is a Mario app, but my understanding is that it’s not really needed.
I saw the set with Yoshi at Target and was prepared to do an impulse buy. Sadly, no stores had the starter pack, so I probably won’t buy any of these. By the time they are readily available, I suspect there will be other (better?) sets that are likely to capture my attention.
I think Lego dropped the ball by making only one set that had the essential figure.